January 4, 2021 Results:

What we got right:

College Basketball:

#9 West Virginia at Oklahoma State - West Virginia was down by 19 points with 11:15 left in the game. They had no business winning this one. Then they ratcheted up the defense like only Bob Huggins coached teams can. An 18-3 run in just four minutes got the game close, and the Mountaineers made the plays down the stretch to win 87-84.

NBA:

Cleveland at Orlando - The third quarter was the difference in this game. The Magic outscored the Cavaliers 38-18 in that quarter, turning a two point lead at halftime into a 22 point cushion. Neither team did much in the fourth quarter, but Orlando didn’t need to, winning 103-83 and improving their record to 5-2.

Charlotte at Philadelphia - Well the good news for the Hornets is they didn’t lose by 15 for a third game in a row. The bad news is they lost by 17 to a 76ers team that is sorry to see them leave. Philadelphia won their fourth straight game in dismantling the Hornets for the second time in three nights. Every starter scored in double figures for the 76ers, while Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons both had double-doubles.

Indiana at New Orleans - This game felt like a playoff game from the opening tip. Both teams were within two points of each other at the end of every quarter. At the end it was Malcolm Brogdon who hit the game winner for the Pacers. Brogdon showed up in this one, coming up three rebounds shy of a triple double. Brandon Ingram scored 31 points in the loss for the Pelicans, who only wen 9-27 from three.

Sacramento at Golden State - Here come the Warriors! A night after scoring 137 points, Golden State scored 137 again in a dominating win over Sacramento. Steph Curry did cool off, only scoring 30 a night after a career high 62. This game was over after for the first quarter, which ended with Golden State holding a 37-20 lead. They never let up after that.

What we got wrong:

NBA:

New York at Atlanta - After three quarters the Hawks had a four point lead and things were looking alright. Then the Knicks came alive, outscoring them 29-20 in a 113-108 win. New York has been playing quality basketball under new head coach Tom Thibodeau. He will wear out his welcome like he always does, but for right now it is good to see quality basketball coming from the Knicks.

Oklahoma City at Miami - We thought Miami would win. We didn’t think Miami would cover. They proved us wrong in blitzing the Thunder 118-90. The Heat used a 20-0 run in the third quarter to pull away from the Thunder. The game was so far out of reach that Oklahoma City rested their starters the entire fourth quarter.

Boston at Toronto - We keep picking Toronto and they keep letting us down. The calling card of the great Toronto teams of recent past has been their defense. They have looked completely lost on that side of the ball this season. In this one they allowed Jayson Tatum to go off for 40 points in the 126-114 victory for the Celtics.

Dallas at Houston - We were not expecting Luca Doncic to play in this one. All he did was have a 33 point, 16 rebound, 11 assist game as Dallas rolled over rival Houston. James Harden scored just 21 points on 5-17 shooting for the Rockets, who now find themselves at 2-3. The James Harden trade rumors are getting louder after every loss, and we do think he will be traded at some point before the trade deadline. Will be fascinating to watch.

Detroit at Milwaukee - These big spreads for team playing the Bucks are not being kind to us. Milwaukee “only” won by ten, and the main reason why is because their starters didn’t play much in the fourth quarter. After three they had a 17 point lead and coasted the rest of the way. Giannis scored 43 points in their 125-115 victory as Milwaukee got their record above .500 for the first time this season.